Another great week is concluded with this blog article from learning different coaching techniques by Steve and Faye to experiencing another lot of sessions with the FAST squad. This week’s FAST sessions with Steve took place at the AIS, Charnwood and Governor General’s Hill (GGs) with a range of different training modalities being experienced. The AIS session included 10 x 90m sprints at 80% with only a walk back as the recovery. This training session was designed to further teach the importance of speed maintenance and accelerating to this speed in a short amount of distance. I learnt that athletes throughout this type of session start to feel fatigue from the 6th/7th sprint so as a coach we need to cater for this and monitor the athletes closely throughout these remaining sets. As well as this in was an important lesson in how to individualise the training session for other athletes and that the simplest change to the training such as decreasing the intensity from 80% to 70% can prove to be beneficial.

Not only was there the AIS speed session but there was also a different session that I have not completed with Steve before. This session was focused on reaction timing and being able to react to a signal without looking at the coach. This was an awesome session as it was something different focusing on the athlete’s ability to react to a stimulus. What I took away from this session was that it is important to diversify the training modalities in order to further improve and peak the interest for the athlete. Not just this but that all sessions don’t have to be hard and fast, but they can be easy and fun. With this in mind, this session even though it was not as difficult as the previous sessions, it still aimed to improve an aspect of a sprinters run and that was reacting to a pre-set stimulus such as sound, similar to how runners would react to a starting pistol.

The last FAST session for this week took place at GGs and to tell you the truth, the more times you run it the less daunting it becomes. This session included 4x300m runs up the hill but compared to last time it was a fair bit easier in the sense that I was able to recover quicker. All the athletes smashed through the sets and were true champions for completing another session at GGs. What I learnt from this session was a revision of what I had learnt from previous sessions under Steve which was how to individualise the training to meet all athlete’s needs (newbies to the hill a pyramid set, short distance runners were 4x230m and the 400m runners was 4x300m), how to identify an athletes fatigue level, speed maintenance and the use of a hill terrain to further increase strength in athletes. If anyone hasn’t been to one of Steve’s sessions at GGs, then it is highly recommended as you do see improvements and the hill does become less daunting every session you do complete.

This week I also had the pleasure of observing Faye’s squad again, this time watching them run 10x100m. Not only was I observing how Faye led this session but also helped out with timing some of the kids runs. It was awesome to see how connected Faye is with each of the athletes in her squad and how engaging she is with each and everyone of them. What I learnt from this session was engagement with the athletes are an important part of coaching cause this is where a coach can individualise the training ad create personal programs for them to complete. As well as this it creates a friendly and trusting environment for the athletes to be training in. Not only this but that each training session isn’t always competitive and hard and that they can be fun and engaging as well.

Working with a range of different coaches who coachdifferent age groups and skill levels have really opened my eyes to the athletic community. From learning from Steve who participates with the athlete and motives them to further improve themselves to Dick Telford who sets out the purpose of the session and lets their athletes’ own motivation push them through it. These two different types of athletic coaching styles are what I had the pleasure in observing and getting involved with for my 8th week with the UC Ginninderra Athletics Club.

This week’s FAST sessions were full of experiences both from a coaching point of view and an athletes point of view. The two sessions for this week were held at the AIS track and the dreaded Governor General’s Hill (GGs). Both teaching the importance of individualising your training routine in order to suit the ever-changing needs of the athletes. As well as this how to further identify any inconsistencies with an athlete’s technique and try to figure out if its due to their own understanding or if it’s because of fatigue. At the end of the day the key message to take is something that I have fully understood the meaning of throughout my time which is that arms drive the legs. The arms are an essential component to running cause as you fatigue your arms carry your legs through the pain to finish. This is especially important when running in a session at GGs. Not only these technical aspects of training and coaching are important though, we as coaches are there to motivate the athlete to push through the pain and to achieve the most they can from the training session. From an athlete’s point of view through these two sessions I learnt the necessity of proper form and technique to help achieve the desired speed that the activity is designed for. As well as this it is crucial for an athlete to not only know what pace to run at for different intensities (E.g. 60%/80%/90%) but on how to maintain that speed for the full distance and how to repeat that speed for the same intensity. This is especially important for 200-400m runners as they are working out times to beat for each 100m leg of their race to achieve the best possible time.

I also observed and learnt from Dick Telford again this week who held his session at the arboretum. This venue was a tough one for the athletes to complete which involved a 5km run and some hill runs for a total of a 45min session. What I learnt from this session was what is the main focus of an endurance runner and that is control. Ok getting a bit technical here but what i learnt was that the least amount of homeostatic change in the body is the difference between 1st and 2nd place within a long-distance race. This being the amount of control that one has of the bodies reaction to chemical effects on the body when facing fatigue, for example, their tolerance to lactic acid. Someone who has a better control of their body and homeostasis is more likely to be first in a race. As well as that knowing when to increase pace and being able to maintain a competitive race pace for majority of the race is crucial for these guys to learn and apply. Dick, through his sessions is preparing the athletes for this and to endure a high intensity pace for a long period of time or distance.

Unfortunately, there was unpleasant weather this Saturday, so Tiger Cubs did not take place, but this gave us time to review our current program and to see if any changes needs to be made and so that we fully understand what is required of us to conduct the On Track program. I am looking forward to seeing all of the Tiger Cubs next Saturday for a fun filled session.

This week’s lot of sessions consisted of many hard training moments and important learning curves. The sessions for this week involved speed maintenance, adjustments and explosiveness which are very important aspects of running. The Tuesday session for this week was split into two groups in order to meet the needs of all athletes. The groups were split in regard to what events the athletes would likely be competing in, one group was the 100/200m runners, and the other group was the 400m runners. I had the pleasure to run with the 400m guys for this session and to tell you the truth this was one of the hardest session I have ever done. Our group had to run 3x250m sets with only 30 second recovery in between at an intensity of 80%. The second group also had a challenging session ahead of them with doing short sprintsover 150m at 90% and then 100m at 80% with a recovery time of 4 min between each set. Participating in this session really opened my eyes at the importance of maintaining a particular speed and the negative effects even going a little too hard can have when completing the remaining sets. This was clearly evident in the last set of our run where I struggled to finish the full 250m. This session was a difficult but an awesome training experience where I learnt the importance of speed maintenance, how to pick up on when the athlete is running at a higher intensity then what was set out and how to individualise the training to suit the needs of different types of runners.

As well as this the Thursday session was 10x100m sprints with just a walk back as recovery and at an intensity of roughly 80%. This training session had elements of explosiveness where the athletes from the start had to reach what they felt was 80% and maintain that for the duration of the 100m. With only a walk back as recovery this training session was designed to become harder once you reached the 6-8 set as that is when lactic starts to affect the legs. A little different to what was done on Tuesday, but the same principles are still being taught and learnt. These principlesbeing the importance of speed maintenance with some element of explosiveness and the notion of when you start to feel tired don’t stop swinging the arms as this is what will carry you through the remaining sets.

The Sunday session was different again to the other sessionsthis week with this training being more centred around speed. This session involved running 5x120m runs with varying intensities at every 40m block. The first 40m block was to build up to 80%, then to drop down to 60% for the second 40m block and finally explode into a 90% sprint for the last 40m. This session in itself was teaching the importance of having that explosiveness in a race and was also teaching about how to vary your race pace mid run.

I also had the absolute pleasure in observing another squad this week which was Faye’s squad that train on a Monday and Wednesday night. Faye is an awesome coach that trains athletes from the age range of 10-15 years old in sprints, hurdles and jumps. This weeks Wednesday session was focusing on long jump with some easy plyometric work. This was an awesome experience learning new ways of coaching from a different perspective. What I learnt from this session was some of the technique behind the long jump and how important it is to be ‘down to earth’ with your athletes. The different ways that coaches conduct their warmups and technical components of the training session. Also, just from observing I learnt the importance behind having a friendly and positive personality while also being able to be strict when you need to be. This was an amazing experience and I hope to continue learning from Faye and her squad in the future.

This week also involved our weekly Tiger cub On Track session for kids within the age range of six to eight years old. This week we were teaching the fundamental movement skills behind hopping and vertical jumping. This week was also the first week taking on the Tiger Cubs session without Alex being present. This session was a tiring session for all the kids as each activity involved constant movement, but all the kids looked like they were still enjoying and having fun in each designed game. It was awesome to see how much talent and understanding that the kids at that age had for these skills and how they were able to apply it for each activity. As well as this it was amazing to see how much the junior coaches were doing in leading and helping to coach the kids through each of the activities.

This week provide me with new insights into skill development and mastering techniques from an athlete’s perspective. Over the past few weeks, training with Steve and watching both adults and kids participating in the Winter Wonderland sessions has opened my eyes to understanding the commitments and routines that are imbedded into mastering techniques and achieving each athlete’s best performances.

For the Thursday session we headed back out to the Charnwood Ovals. This week we started off with our usual warm up, but added in new exercises of grapevines, aimed at stretching and moving the quads and hamstrings before running, and arm swings performed in the motion of the freestyle swimming stroke then turning around and performing a backstroke movement. This allowed us to open up and rotate our shoulders. We then did our quick run throughs and got into the sprinting. For tonight’s session we completed 10 reps of 100 metre sprints with a slow walk back as recovery. This was performed at an 80% intensity level. This allowed us to think about how to manage fatigue and how to stay focused and keep going when fatigue takes over. We finished up with our normal cool down.

At the Saturday session we had approximately 50 kids and adults participating again this week, which is showing that the new Winter Wonderland session has been a success for all ages to get involved and work on skills without having the added pressure of competing and trying to achieve their best times or distances. Walking around and taking photos each week has allowed me to watch each age group and coaches get involve and really focus on improving their techniques and understand what the purpose of each session is for. Through all the excitement, over the past few weeks I have noticed that many of the kids are becoming really engaged, listening to both the interns and junior coaches through understanding the skills that are being demonstrated and getting involved to demonstrate these skills. Looking back on the photos taken each week showcases just how involved the interns and junior coaches are with establishing a connection with their group and developing the skills and each participant getting involved and having fun at the same time. At the end of the session, the tiny tots and their parents lined up and sang a big ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of their amazing coaches, Deb. This was a wonderful gesture that showed how much of a family orientated club we are and how much each participant appreciates the coaches.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day that soon becoming very warm when we were completing our session. This week we had a huge turn out of 10 runners. After completing our warm ups with the added new exercises, we completed our run throughs then headed up to the start line to start our sprints. We got into two heats and performed 120 metre sprints at 3 different intensities, over 5 reps. The first 40 metres consisted of an 80% intensity, which was aimed at mastering our take off and holding a fast pace. The next 40 metres was at 60%, which was aimed at holding a steady pace when running over a longer distance. Then the last 40 metres was back up to a higher intensity of 90% aimed at an explosive finish. The purpose of the changed intensities was designed to focus on transition from each intensity through not losing speed and continuing the same momentum. I found it harder to transition from the 80% down to 60% as you had to really focus on not pulling up to quickly and smoothly transitioning into each intensity. My preferred was the last 40 metres as it was challenging to drive quickly off a slower pace. Transitioning from various intensities is an area that I need to work on when on the football field, so completing this session was very beneficial for me. Our recovery for the session was a slow walk back whilst stretching out our calves to avoiding tightening up when fatigue was kicking in. The cool down consisted of a slow jog around the track to wrap up the last session for the week.

Although this week challenged me towards working on technique, it was also very enjoyable and beneficial.